Group fighting alcohol sales
Concerned Franklin County citizens met at the Russellville Parks and Recreation Center Thursday night to discuss ways to defeat the legalizing of alcohol sales in the city of Russellville.
This issue will be on the ballot for city residents during the Nov. 2 election.
Local businessman Mike Sewell opened the meeting by outlining the issues he felt the group would be facing.
“We have a moral crisis in our community,” Sewell said. “We must take immediate action to defeat those who will sell the lives of our children, families and loved ones for pure greed.”
The greed Sewell referred to was in response to many Russellville citizens believing that sales from alcohol will eventually help the city and the schools.
Members of this group believe any money gained from alcohol sales will be at the expense of the morality of the city.
The meeting was turned over to Dr. Wade Wallace, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Russellville, who explained the need for an organized group capable of receiving donations so that materials could be distributed to members of the community.
Meeting participants decided to form a political action committee (PAC) called the Franklin County Vote Dry PAC, to fuel their efforts.
During the meeting, $1,434.79 was donated by a meeting participant to the newly formed PAC. This money was left over from the funds collected for Citizens Organized for a Dry County, a group formed during the 1984 countywide wet/dry vote.
The group plans to use the money that is collected to send out fliers, work the absentee vote and contact area churches to get their message out into the community.
“We’ve got to educate the citizens of this county, not just Russellville, because this decision will ultimately affect everyone here,” Wallace said.
And Calvary Baptist Church Student Minister Ryan Mouser knows what the effects of alcohol can be.
“I’ve seen what alcoholism can do to families,” Mouser said. “I have no uncle now because of the effects of alcohol.”
Mouser is also concerned that if the county goes wet, it will have a negative impact on the teenagers in the area.
“Being a youth minister, I know the temptations kids face and how dangerous having alcohol around can be,” Mouser said. “It would be devastating to have to do a funeral for one of these kids because of an alcohol-related death that could have been prevented.”
Larry Dover, who was appointed treasurer of the Franklin County Vote Dry PAC, fully believes that citizens who believe the city will be better if alcohol sales are legalized are deceived.
“These folks that say we’re going to get nice restaurants if we can serve alcohol need to go to Jasper,” Dover said. “They don’t have all sorts of nice restaurants. There’s no good that will come from it.”
The next meeting of the Franklin County Vote Dry PAC will be Thursday, Sept. 8, at 6:30 p.m. at the Russellville Parks and Recreation Building in Meeting Room 3.
